


The Dragon Rises Anew

by KibaFenrisulfur



Series: Fire Emblem AU [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I write instead of doing work, M/M, Multi, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, everyone shows up at some point - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-17 16:56:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17564387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KibaFenrisulfur/pseuds/KibaFenrisulfur
Summary: When a young, brilliant tactician is found by the Shepherds without her memories the lives of her rescuers are changed forever. With the threat of war from the neighboring land of Plegia, new kinds of enemies, and new allies from distant lands the new tactician and her allies will be put to the test. Will she be able to change the fate of these lands without her old allies? Or is this one Fate that cannot be changed?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy this. In this AU the lands of Hoshido, Nohr, and Valla exist in the same era as Ylisse, but until recently those lands have kept their borders closed to the outside world. It has been two years since the war that resulted in the creation of Valla. This story will occasionally reference that war.
> 
> This is a personal project meant for entertainment and for me to improve my writing skills. All negative comments will be removed. Enjoy!

_‘Darkness. It surrounds me and encompasses my mind. Why is it here? Where am I?’_

“Chrom… we have to do something...” a soft feminine voice says.

 _‘Who is that? Is someone nearby?’_ I think as the darkness begins to clear from my mind and sight.

“What do you propose we do?” a male voice responds. I frown more as I slowly blink my eyes open and look up at two blurry figures standing over me.

“Uh..er…. I don’t know…” the yellow figure responds. She turns towards me and makes a sound of relief when she notices my eyes have opened. She leans down and as my eyes adjust to the brightness the second figure of a man with blue hair comes into focus as the two lean over me.

“I see you’re awake now,” the male says. The girl beside him smiles kindly as she looks down at me, but I can see her brow creased with worry.

“Hey there…” she says with a soft laugh mixed into her voice. I look up at the two still dazed as my head tilts forward to take in their appearances better.

“There are better places to take a nap than on the ground you know,” the male says drawing my attention back to him. He holds his hand out to help me up, and I can practically feel the kindness coming off of him. “Give me your hand.”

I reach up and grasp his hand firmly as my eyes are drawn to the odd mark etched in my skin. I stare at it as the man squeezes my hand firmly before pulling me to my feet and uncomfortably close to him. I frown at the proximity between us and take a step back as I pull my hand from his before offering him a grateful smile.

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Four figures stand in a field as a female with burgundy colored hair blinks slowly. She gazes at the three across from her with a small frown. One of them is a man with dark blue hair and has a relaxed stance as his hands hang at his sides. An elegantly crafted blade is strapped to his right side. A young girl with blonde hair up in twintails smiles at the burgundy haired woman as she stands slightly behind the blue haired male. A brown haired male stands behind the two and frowns as his blue armor shines in the sun casting a skeptical gaze onto the burgundy haired woman.

“Are you alright?” the blue haired male asks. The burgundy haired woman shifts her gaze back to the blue haired male and gives him a kind smile as she relaxes slightly.

“Y-yes… Thank you, Chrom,” the woman responds softly.

“Ah, then you know who I am?” Chrom asks. The burgundy haired woman frowns as she lifts a hand to her head and shakes it gently in thought.

“No, actually, I… It’s strange… Your name, it just...came to me…,” she responds softly. She looks genuinely confused as she frowns heavily at knowing the name of the male standing across from her despite having no memories of him or the others for that matter.

“...Hmmm, how curious. Tell me, what’s your name? What brings you here?” Chrom asks, tilting his head slightly in curiosity.

“My name is… It’s… Hmm?” she responds before lifting a hand to her head again as she grimaces. She frowns in confusion as she rubs her temple as though she’s trying to soothe a headache that’s beginning to form. Chrom narrows his eyes as he watches her cautiously.

“...You don’t know your own name?” Chrom asks. The burgundy haired woman narrows her eyes and looks around in confusion as panic can be seen growing in her eyes.

“I’m not sure if… I’m sorry, but where am I, exactly?” she asks nervously, fear and worry lacing her tone.

“Hey, I’ve heard of this! It’s called amnesia!” the blonde yells suddenly. The burgundy haired woman shifts her gaze to the blonde and tilts her head in confusion as she watches her cautiously, though she is confused why she is on edge when she doesn’t sense any malicious intent from the three.

“It’s called a load of pegasus dung. We’re to believe you remember milord’s name, but not your own?” the knight behind the two questions with a harsh tone.

“It’s the truth sir…. Much as I wish it was not,” the burgundy haired woman responds softly. She turns her gaze to the knight and it hardens as she stares at him unwaveringly. The knight narrows his eyes as he holds the mysterious woman’s gaze.

“...What if it _is_ true, Frederick? We can’t just leave her here, alone and confused. What sort of Shepherds would we be than?” Chrom asks making the knight turn towards his lord. Frederick sighs as he nods slightly.

“Just the same, milord, I must emphasize caution. ‘Twould not do to let a wolf into our flock,” Frederick responds.

“Right then---we’ll take her back to town and sort this out there,” Chrom states. The burgundy haired woman jolts and frowns as she looks between the group nervously.

“Wait just one moment. Do I have a say in this?” she asks.

“Peace, friend---I promise we’ll hear all you have to say back in town. Now come.” The woman frowns as Chrom and the blonde haired girl turn to leave. She pauses and wonders if she can get away with not following them, until she hears the knight grunt at her to signal her to get moving. She sighs and hurries after the two as she frowns heavily. They walk for a few miles and she pauses having been thinking for quite some time now. The others pause and look at her as she lowers her head and frowns the dark bags beneath her eyes becoming noticeable to the others now.

“What will you do with me? Am I to be your prisoner?” she asks lowly. She stiffens hearing a sharp, but not unkind laugh as a smile works its way to Chrom’s lips.

“You’ll be free to go once we establish you’re no enemy of Ylisse,” Chrom responds. She keeps her frown, but looks over at Chrom as she tilts her head curiously.

“Is that where we are? Ylisse?” she asks softly.

“You’ve never heard of the halidom? Ha! Someone pay this actress. She plays quite the fool! The furrowed brow is especially convincing…” Frederick snorts, making the woman shift uncomfortably.

“I never said that… At least I feel as though I’ve heard of this place before,” she murmurs quietly going unheard by the others.

“Frederick, please. This land is known as the Halidom of Ylisse. Our ruler, Emmeryn, is called the exalt. I suppose proper introductions are in order… My name is Chrom---but then, you already knew that,” Chrom states before gesturing to the blonde beside him. “The delicate one here is my little sister, Lissa.” Lissa stomps her foot at the statement and pouts as she shoots Chrom a glare.

“I am NOT delicate! ...Hmph!” Lissa shouts before turning towards the burgundy haired woman and smiling kindly with a faint blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. “Ignore my brother, please. He can be a bit thick sometimes. But you’re lucky the Shepherds found you. Brigands would’ve been a rude awakening!” Lissa grins as she speaks kindly. The woman tilts her head curiously as she looks the girl over then the others as her eyes narrow a bit.

“Shepherds? I am to believe you tend sheep? ...In full armor?” she asks warily. Chrom barks out a laugh again and smiles as he shakes his head amused.

“Heh, it’s a dangerous job. Just ask Frederick the Wary here,” Chrom responds. The woman frowns and looks over her shoulder at the knight behind her as her posture stiffens and she shifts her stance subconsciously.

“A title I shall wear with pride. Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution. I have every wish to trust you, stranger, but my station mandates otherwise,” Frederick states calmly. The woman doesn’t relax her stance, but nods stiffly in response.

“I can understand the feeling. I would do no less myself. Especially if it meant protecting someone important to me. My name is Kai ...I just remembered that. How odd. I suppose that’s one mystery solved at least,” Kai says softly. Chrom tilts his head curiously as Kai watches him from the corner of her eye keeping her focus on Frederck for the most part. As Kai watches Chrom she can see Lissa turn towards the town as she watches it from a distance.

“Kai? Is that foreign? ...Ah, well. We can discuss it later. We’re almost to town. Once we---”

“Chrom, look! The town!” Lissa shouts in worry. The others turn their gaze in the directions she indicates and they go stiff seeing the smoke rising from the damaged and burning town. Kai’s eyes narrow at the sight and her frown becomes a straight neutral line as her fingers curl at her sides on instinct.

“Damn it! The town is ablaze! Those blasted brigands, no doubt… Frederick, Lissa! Quickly!” Chrom orders surely.

“What about her?” Frederick asks, gesturing vaguely to Kai. Kai looks up sharply as her gaze narrows and she starts to speak, but is cut off by Chrom.

“Unless she’s on fire as well, it can wait!”

“Aptly put, milord,” Frederick responds and nods in agreement. Kai frowns at having been cut off, but shrugs off the feeling of unease it causes as she turns her gaze back to Lissa.

“Let’s go already!” Lissa says worriedly. Chrom nods and the three dart off towards the town as Kai watches with an uneasy feeling in her gut.

“Hmm….” Kai watches them take off as she hums in thought. She looks down for a moment before hurrying after them as the feeling of dread in her stomach becomes too much for her to ignore. She reaches into her cloak on instinct and grasps the tome inside hurrying after the small group worry hastening her steps.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside the burning town the brigand leader laughs uproariously as the town burns around him. His followers roar wordless battle cries as they charge into houses and drag people out as they scream in fear.

“Gwa ha ha! Get to it, lads! Grab anything shiny, and put the rest to the torch! We gots an example to set for these Ylissean types! Ain’t that right, lass?” the brutish leader asks as he tugs a maiden towards him.

“S-stay away from me! Please! Someone! HEEEEEELP!” she cries out in fear. A scream comes from behind the church and a moment later a head flies past the leader. He glares down at the head of one of his underlings and releases the maiden.

“Seems there’s someone in this village with a bit of fight in them. Go teach them a lesson boys,” he roars to a small squadron of warriors. Each warrior responds with yells of their own and charge towards the church as smoke hides them from view. The leader smirks widely as he stands tall and moves towards the church at a relaxed pace. “Heh. No matter who they are they can’t possibly defeat an entire squadron on their own.” A pained scream is abruptly cut off coming from behind the church and all goes quiet as the leader’s smirk widens even more. He begins to guffaw in triumph and orders his men to begin raiding the houses as his laugh echoes through the cityscape.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chrom’s small group runs into the town and pauses as they look around worriedly. Lissa frowns nervous and fearful for the citizens of the town as her eyes dart around the burning and ruined houses. Chrom’s expression is grim and angry as he and Frederick survey the damage done to the town.

“Chrom, we have to stop them!” Lissa calls out worriedly to her older brother. Chrom nods grimly as he draws his blade from its scabbard and eyes the enemies calmly.

“Don’t worry---after today, these bandits won’t be bothering anyone ever again…” Chrom replies lowly. He begins to move forward, but before he can get more than a few steps forward he is stopped by a panting Kai as she runs up to the group and tugs Chrom backwards to avoid an arrow. The arrowhead grazes Kai’s shoulder, but she only winces in slight discomfort turning her gaze to the blue haired male instead of her wound.

“You idiot! You should never charge into battle without knowing what the enemy has on their side. Unless you have a death wish that is,” Kai speaks firmly, her eyes alight with anger and disbelief at the man’s quickness to step into battle without a plan of some kind. Chrom looks taken aback by the statement and frowns as he looks at Kai.

“Why did you follow us, Kai?” Chrom asks. Kai frowns at the question and shakes her head a bit as she let’s go of Chrom’s arm and steps ahead of him on instinct as she keeps her back to him.

“I’m not certain myself, but I’m armed, and I know my way around a fight, if you’ll have me,” Kai responds seriously. Chrom nods in agreement and smiles a bit as he watches the odd woman from behind.

“Of course, we’ll have you Kai. Strength in numbers after all, just stay close to us,” Chrom states. Kai frowns at the order and shakes her head as she turns her head towards the battlefield and asses their enemies.

“Remember we’re facing practiced thieves and murders here. They will grant us no quarter. It’s kill or be killed,” Frederick calls warily. Kai frowns and snorts as she slowly pulls a tome out of her cloak and reads through it quickly.

“That won’t be a problem, Frederick. None of our enemies will leave this place alive after daring to hurt so many innocent villagers. Let them taste my thunder and pay for their actions with their lives,” Kai states lowly. The tome in her hand sparks with yellow energy in response to her words as she begins to call upon the magic imbued within its pages.

“...You know magic Kai?,” Chrom asks as he watches the tome curiously. Kai looks down at the tome in her hand and smiles seeing the lightning surrounding her tome and hand.

“At least my body still remembers how to do this much…. I may have forgotten many things, but my body appears to remember how to fight with my weapons. At least I think it does,” Kai responds and winces gently at her own unsureness.

“Perhaps I’ll just keep a few paces behind you for the time being…” Chrom says wearily. Kai nods gently as her gaze turns upwards and she points ahead of her calmly.

“Thunder,” she commands fiercely. The tome in her hand reacts instantly as an arc of yellow energy erupts from the tome and over a stand of fruit in front of the group. After a few seconds there is the sound of a scream as the spells hits its mark. Kai smirks to herself as she darts forward, the others watching stunned before following the mysterious woman. Kai pauses at the fruit stand to have a bit of cover as the enemies advance on her position two coming up to strike her in turn.

A swordsman darts forward first and slices at Kai’s midsection. Kai darts backwards a step and sends a Thunder spell into the man’s midsection when he stumbles forward, not having expected such a well timed maneuver. An axe wielder moves forward as his ally falls and slices at Kai’s side. Kai cries out in pain as the ax slices into her upper arm when she dodges out of the way to avoid a much deeper wound. She straightens quickly and releases another burst of thunder directly into the chest of the warrior as he cries out in pain. The electricity from the attack surges through his system, leaving a blackened scorch mark on his chest.

Kai gasps in pain as she grasps her injured arm and glances backwards to see if anyone has noticed her wound. She sighs in relief seeing that the others appear to be too busy protecting Lissa to notice her discomfort, but catches Lissa’s worried gaze on her and smiles giving a gentle nod to the blonde. Lissa darts over to the Tactician and smiles as her staff glows in her hands, closing the wound in Kai’s arm as the skin is left unmarked as though the wound was never there to begin with.

“Thank you Lissa.”

“It’s what I’m here for Kai, but you should be more careful. It wouldn’t be good if something happened to you while you’re with us,” Lissa says, smiling widely. Kai smiles back and chuckles softly as she nods in understanding. Chrom and Frederick move to the sides of the two girls and Chrom looks Kai over having missed seeing the wound earlier as he was busy watching their backs.

“You still with us, Kai?” Chrom asks gently. Kai hums softly as she tilts her head and observes the battle field again.

“Hmm… It’s strange. Here on the battlefield, I can… Well, I can “see” things,” Kai responds lowly. Her eyes dart towards the left where a mage is hidden and narrow as she examines him.

“What do you mean you see things, Kai?”

“I can see the enemy’s strength, their weaponry, the flow of battle… I believe I studied this somewhere before you found me,” Kai responds softly. She watches the hidden mage and predicts his intended path to be for Lissa as her blood runs cold. She clenches her jaw and lifts her tome a bit.

“So, you’re saying you can size up the enemy at a glance?” Chrom asks.

“Yes, it would seem so. And perhaps more, if I apply myself…” Kai murmurs. Chrom frowns in thought and watches Kai curiously, having noticed the way her stance stiffened. Kai tenses her leg muscles as the enemy Mage begins to move towards Lissa. Kai’s lips turn up in a snarl as she darts into the intended path of the Mage startling him as he came from behind a corner out of sight. Kai roars her command spell as the Mage hesitates and places her palm on his chest using the lapse in his attention to her advantage. The mage’s cry is cut off as the spell shoots through his body and fries his insides before he crumples to the ground. Kai pulls her hand away as electricity sparks from her hand. “Everyone alright?”

“Y-yes. We’re fine Kai, but how did you know the mage was coming from that direction?” Lissa asks worriedly as she looks Kai over. Kai shakes her head as she looks down at the mage before moving towards Lissa and the others as she scans the immediate area.

“Like I said, I can see things on the battlefield. Though I don’t know why or how,” Kai says softly. Chrom looks worried as he looks Kai over when she approaches them.

“Are you alright, Kai? You shouldn’t rush into danger like that,” Chrom says lowly. Kai chuckles almost grimly as she looks towards Chrom and smiles.

“I’m fine, Chrom. Don’t worry about me,” Kai says lowly.

“You’ve lent us your strength, and that makes you a friend. Having an ally by my side gives me courage,” Chrom responds with a kind smile. Kai shakes her head gently as her smile returns to its neutral frown again.

“Thank you, but...I think there’s more to it than that,” Kai responds grimly. Chrom tilts his head as he listens while Frederick frowns and reins his steed in as he paws at the ground impatiently. “I believe there’s a tactical advantage to fighting side by side… After all there’s strength in numbers. Now let’s keep moving. We’ve sat idle for too long.” Kai gestures ahead of herself as she starts to move forward slowly. Frederick frowns as Lissa and Chrom fall into step behind her without a second thought and mutters incoherently as he urges his mount to stand behind Kai, separating her from Chrom slightly.

Kai holds her arm up to stop Lissa from moving forward as she senses two swordsmen approaching them and steps forward into their path calmly. The men snarl as they turn to the tactician and charge her hoping to strike her before she can fire off a spell or defend herself. Kai pivots calmly on her back foot to dodge the first sword as she releases a Thunder spell directly into his chest just as she did earlier with the mage she fought. He crumples to the ground and Kai ducks to avoid being beheaded as the second blade flies over her head, barely avoiding scalping her in the process. She reaches down with her free hand and draws a bronze sword from within her cloak before flipping the blade around to drive it into the swordsman’s chest. The man splutters as blood gushes from his chest wound as Kai withdraws her blade and steps around his fallen body calmly. Kai flicks her blade to the side, away from her companions as the blood on the blade flies off into the distance.

“Sword Fighting is such a messy business… I think I prefer the less bloody tome to this….” Kai says absently. Lissa hurries forward and checks Kai over for wounds as Frederick frowns more and approaches the tactician more cautiously, not liking how calm Kai is about taking the lives of others. “I’m fine Lissa. Promise they didn’t even touch me.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not going to check you over Kai,” Lissa responds. Kai smiles and steps away from Lissa as she moves forward slowly.

“Save it for after we clear out all the brigands. I’m sure the villagers will need your healing staff more than I will,” Kai says softly. Lissa frowns and looks as if she’s about to argue with Kai before noticing the worry and anger in the other girl’s eyes. Lissa nods instead and hurries after the tactician before being pushed to the ground as a hand axe flies over her head. A male can be heard laughing as the brigand leader steps into Kai’s and Lissa’s line of sight with multiple hand axes strapped to his chest and sides.

“Here, sheepy sheepy! Come to the slaughter!” the male jeers at the two. Kai narrows her eyes at the man as she lifts her tome up higher and grips her sword more firmly.

“Stay down Lissa. I don’t want you getting hurt,” Kai says firmly before standing slowly. Lissa nods as she lays still out of range of the hand axes as Kai moves forward slowly. The man laughs deeply as he draws one of his axes and darts towards the tactician quickly. Kai watches the man carefully and lifts her sword upwards to parry the blow, grunting from the effort. She locks her blade with the man’s ax and pushes against him to try and knock him off balance. The man just smirks and draws a second handaxe from his side before swinging at Kai’s unprotected left side. Kai’s eyes widen for a split second before narrowing angrily as she springs backwards to disengage from her opponent, barely avoiding the disemboweling blow of the second handaxe. Kai quickly lifts her sword when she lands to deflect a handax that is thrown at her. She narrows her eyes and swings her blade around in an arc to deflect the second axe as she slips into her spell casting stance. She lifts the tome and sends the spell towards the man’s chest, but he moves quickly so that the spell only grazes his arm before darting towards Kai.

Kai curses silently as she hastily springs backwards feeling the bite of steel in her side as she moves a second too late to completely avoid the blow. Kai lands heavily on her back and she lays winded for a moment. The man moves to stand over her as he lifts his second ax to bring it down towards Kai’s right shoulder. Kai releases her grip on her sword as she lifts her left hand upwards towards the man’s chest as electricity sparks along her palm. Kai releases a wordless cry as a Thunder spell erupts from her hand and into the man’s exposed stomach. The man’s eyes widen in surprise for an instant before he slumps to the side dead from the mortal blow to his exposed midsection.

Kai pants and gasps softly as she lays still for a moment before slowly sitting up as she grasps her wounded side. She looks around slowly for any more enemies before retrieving her discarded sword. She scowls down at the blade and tsks unhappily before she returns the sword to its hidden scabbard within her cloak.

“Well, that’s the end of that at least…” Kai murmurs to herself. She turns hearing someone scramble to their feet and watches Lissa hurry towards her as she grips her glowing staff worriedly.

“Kai!” Lissa calls worriedly as she stops beside Kai. Kai smiles and turns towards Lissa as she shows her the wound. Lissa raises the glowing staff and begins to heal Kai’s wounds. “Lucky for the town, we were close by. But holy wow, Kai! You were incredible! Swords, sorcery, _and_ tactics! Is there anything you can’t do?” Kai smiles a bit at the praise and nods gently as she relaxes her stance looking tired and smaller now. Chrom and Frederick approach as they both frown at the Tactician, though one is a frown of worry and the other is one of weariness at having seen such strength from the woman despite her supposed amnesia.

“You’re certainly no helpless victim, that much is for sure,” Chrom states kindly. Kai sighs softly and nods absently as she keeps her gaze on Lissa.

“Indeed. Perhaps you might even be capable of an explanation for how you came here?” Frederick practically demands as he glares at the injured Tactician. Kai scowls and lowers her head more as she grips her tome tightly.

“I understand your skepticism, Sir Frederick. And I cannot explain why only some knowledge has returned to me. But please, believe me, when I say I have shared all that I know and that I am not your enemy,” Kai says lowly. She reaches down with her free hand and gently pushes Lissa’s staff away before offering her hand to the younger girl to help her to her feet, as the healer was kneeling to get a better look at the wound on Kai’s hip.

“You fought to save Ylissean lives. My heart says that’s enough,” Chrom responds kindly. Frederick sighs and shakes his head as he turns to watch Chrom calmly.

“And your mind, milord? Will you not heed its counsel as well?” Frederick asks skeptically.

“Frederick, the Shepherds could use someone with Kai’s talents. We’ve brigands and unruly neighbors, all looking to bloody our soil. Would you really have us lose such an able tactician? Besides, I believe her story, odd as it might be,” Chrom states firmly. Kai carefully pulls Lissa to her feet and smiles gently at the girl before releasing her hand.

“Thank you, Chrom. I know it is probably very difficult for you to speak like that considering just how odd my story is,” Kai says softly. She leans against the wall behind her tiredly, making Lissa frown and move closer only to be waved off by the Tactician. “I’m fine Lissa. I just need to rest a moment. It feels as though it has been a long time since I last fought for my life like that.” Lissa looks sceptical, but nods anyways and steps back again.

“So how about it? Will you join us, Kai?” Chrom asks kindly. Kai looks thoughtful as she tilts her head downwards before nodding slowly.

“I would be honored to fight alongside you all… Besides it’s not like I have anywhere else to go, or at least anywhere I know of…” Kai trails off and winces at her own words. “Not that I don’t wish to travel with you all. I just don’t want anyone who does know me to worry is all… Though I wouldn’t know if there was someone like that out there.” Chrom smiles kindly as he nods in understanding before offering his hand to Kai. Kai looks at it skeptically before pushing off her seat to stand as she moves a bit closer to Lissa. Chrom slowly lowers his hand curious why Kai rejected his help before shrugging as he turns to go check on the citizens worriedly.

Kai watches silently as she follows Lissa around the town and points out areas where injured civilians are huddled. Lissa hurries to the areas Kai points out and sets about healing the worst wounded and telling them it’s safe. Kai turns once she’s alone feeling as if she’s being watched, causing her to scan the area curiously. She frowns when she sees Chrom watching her intently and tsks quietly as she turns away. She shrugs off the feeling of being watched as she assumes it is simply because Chrom is staring at her intently once her back is turned. She squirms a bit uncomfortably and shakes her head gently. Later the group gathers near the bridge that leads to the burning chapel after having checked on the villagers.

“Did you notice, milord? The brigands spoke with a Plegian accent,” Frederick states once he has checked to make sure Lissa is unharmed after being left alone with Kai. Kai tilts her head curiously as she gazes at Frederick, but stays closer to Lissa than the others for some reason or other.

“What is a Plegian? I heard a few of the villagers speaking of it earlier when Lissa and I were checking on them….” Kai says absently as she watches Frederick. Chrom turns towards Kai looking serious as he places a hand on his sacred blade, Falchion.

“Plegia is Ylisse’s westerly neighbor. They send small bands into our territory, hoping to instigate a war,” Chrom explains calmly.

“And it’s always the poor townsfolk who suffer! Totally innocent, and totally helpless…” Lissa says looking upset. Kai sighs at the explanation and shakes her head sadly at the news.

“They do have us, milady: Shepherds to protect the sheep. Do not be swept up in your anger. It will cloud your judgement,” Frederick says. Kai sighs again and nods as she turns towards the bridge and watches the smoke rise from where the fires once burned inside it.

“Frederick is right Lissa. If we let our emotions cloud our judgement it could cost us our own life or worse the life of someone we care about. Though I find what these “Plegian’s” have done to be truly despicable, but then all is fair in love and war as they say,” Kai says softly. Lissa and Frederick both start a bit at hearing the statement before both nod solemnly in agreement, Chrom simply stares at Kai curiously as she reaches up and runs a bloodstained hand through her burgundy hair before wincing as she realizes what she’s done. “Well that’s not coming out anytime soon…” Lissa giggles quietly and smiles towards Kai.

“I know what you mean Kai. Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll both get used to all this,” Lissa says brightly. Kai stares for a moment before laughing gently.

“I’m sure we will, Lissa. It will just take time,” Kai says softly. A villager walks across the bridge towards the group, causing Kai to turn her attention to him as she watches him cautiously.

“Milord, please! You must stay the night! We are simple folk of simple means, but we would gladly toast your valor with a feast!” the villager calls from atop the bridge. Frederick smiles up at the man and shakes his head firmly.

“A most generous offer, sir, and no doubt your hospitality would be grand...But I’m afraid we must hurry back to Ylisstol,” Frederick calls out loudly. Kai relaxes her stance somewhat and giggles as she listens to Lissa behind her.

“Dark meat only for me, medium well, and no salt in the soup. I simply---Wait what?! We’re not staying?!” Lissa cries out sounding scandalized. Kai laughs a little louder and smiles as she shakes gently in amusement. “But, Frederick, it’s nearly dark!” Frederick turns towards Lissa and smiles as the blonde whines unhappily.

“When night falls, we’ll camp. Eat off the land, make our bed of twigs and the like… I believe you mentioned you would be “getting used to this”?” Frederick says firmly. Kai winces as he uses the blonde’s words against her. Lissa pouts and crosses her arms as she grumbles softly.

“Frederick? Sometimes I hate you,” Lissa states still pouting a bit.

“You’ve quite the stern lieutenant there,” Kai states, though she doesn’t appear to be to upset by this.

“Yeah, well, “stern” is one name for it. I can think of a few others!” Lissa says irritably. Kai laughs gently and smiles kindly at Lissa as she shakes her head a bit.

“Frederick only smiles when he’s about to bring down the axe,” Chrom states softly. Kai narrows her eyes at the statement going rigid as she stares at Chrom, unintentionally highlighting the dark circles beneath her eyes.

“Duly noted,” Kai says lowly. Frederick clears his throat loudly to get their attention again as he frowns at the three.

“You do realize I _am_ still present?” Frederick asks. Chrom laughs and smiles as he nods firmly.

“Oh, we realize.”

Kai smiles and laughs at Chrom’s response as she slowly becomes more accustomed to her odd company. Frederick rolls his eyes as he sighs heavily before growing serious again.

“Milord remains as amusing as ever,” Frederick states sarcastically. “Now then, shall we be going?”

“All right, all right,” Chrom says before turning towards Kai and Lissa. “Ready to go, Kai? The capital isn’t far.”

Kai nods silently in understanding and smiles kindly towards Chrom before standing aside to let him and Frederick pass. Kai sighs once she’s standing alone and looks around feeling someone watching her again. Kai frowns and her eyes narrow when she sees a flash of long burgundy hair disappearing around a corner. She blinks and shakes her head before starting to move after Chrom and the others.

“I’m imagining things now… Probably just tired from the battle,” Kai murmurs to herself. She keeps walking despite feeling the eyes on her back again.

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A woman with long burgundy hair watches as Kai joins up with Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick, leaving the town quickly as the sun begins to set. The woman hums softly as she places a burgundy gauntlet against the side of the chapel she hid behind. She stands proudly as her burgundy armor with light blue highlights glints in the dying light. She places her other hand down on a golden pommel strapped to her back as she runs her thumb over it slowly.

“Oh Kai…. You’re as stubborn as ever I see. Even if you’ve lost your memories. Ah, well. Just means I’ll have to keep an eye on you before I can search for the others. Damn… They’re gonna kick my ass for this later,” the woman murmurs fondly.

The mysterious woman laughs gently as she runs her clawed gauntlet through her hair to straighten her messy, disheveled appearance a bit. She tsks hearing a low moan from behind her and turns to look at the source of the noise. She frowns watching as a group of twenty-five brigands lay sprawled out behind her, bleeding from an assortment of different wounds ranging from deep gashes made by claws to sword wounds and magical burns. She sighs and shakes her head sadly knowing the brigands won’t survive the wounds dealt to them.

“May the Dusk and Dawn Dragons guide your souls to peace, and may this be last war we fight in...at least in this lifetime,” she murmurs lowly. She pivots and withdraws a darkly bound book once the moaning stops and whispers a command spell as a fireball sets the corpses ablaze. She snaps the book closed afterwards as her blood red eyes reflect the fire light ominously. “It’s time I left this place…. Can’t lose Kai again after all.” The woman chuckles to herself as she leaves the town quickly, only being seen by a few villagers though no one says anything since her armor is coated in blood from her battle with the brigands. A few begin to whisper in awe as they watch the woman leave their village, unsure whether the woman means their country harm or if she is truly an ally since they have never seen anyone like her before.

The woman smirks to herself as she leaves the area calmly, not minding the whispers as she walks. A strong gust of wind sends her tattered cloak fluttering off to the side beside her and displays the gold lining on the inside as a symbol is revealed in gold stitching on the back that was hidden beneath her hair. The people stare and murmur lowly about the octagram with what could only be described as a set of folded wings on either side of it.

“Who is she? I’ve never seen her before…,” a villager whispers, causing the woman to pause. The warrior tilts her head as she shifts her weight between her bare feet before smiling as she turns her gaze towards the villager that spoke. The villager flinches a bit and stares at the woman nervously, trembling beneath the intense red gaze.

“Call me Kiba.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kai travels towards Ylisse and encounters unforeseen problems along the way. Will she be able to handle them with a level head, or will the appearance of two supposed allies and new enemies lead to her failure?

Kai, Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick slowly walk through the forest as they head towards the capital city of Ylisstol. Kai walks slowly behind Chrom and Frederick as she conserves as much energy as possible after having spent so much energy fighting earlier. Lissa walks along beside Kai looking tired as night settles over the area. Kai sighs softly as she keeps close to Lissa making sure she doesn’t trip from exhaustion. The group slowly comes to a stop a few minutes later as the sun completely sets, though they haven’t gotten more than a few hours away from the town they were at earlier.

“I told you---it’s getting dark already! ...Ech! And now the bugs are out! Noisy, disgusting bugs that buzz around and crawl all over and bite you when---” Lissa starts before sputtering loudly. She yells out something incoherently as she spits repeatedly before making a disgusted face.

“I take it one of those bugs she was ranting about just got in her mouth then,” Kai chuckles as she gently pats Lissa on the back. Lissa coughs and sputters again before looking at Kai thankfully.

“Aw, come on now, you two. Hardship builds character. Want to help me gather firewood?” Chrom asks as he smiles fondly at his little sister.

“Tpht! Tpht! Yeeeeeeuck! ...I think I swallowed it…” Lissa whines as she leans back into Kai’s hand a bit. “I’ll pass on finding firewood, thanks. I think I’ve built  _ quite  _ enough character for one day!” Kai smiles kindly as she pats Lissa on the back kindly.

“Take it easy Lissa… You should definitely rest if this was the first time you were ever in a battle like that,” Kai murmurs lowly. “We should probably think about food, too. I don’t know about you all, but I’m starving.”

“Yes, I should think a little hunting and gathering is in order. Now, who wants to clear a campsite?” Frederick says. Kai sighs and shakes her head before pulling her hand away from Lissa’s back.

“I can handle that Frederick. You and Chrom just worry about getting food and firewood,” Kai states calmly. Lissa frowns as Frederick and Chrom step away to go about their respective tasks silently. Kai sighs as she shakes her head and finds a clearing nearby as she begins to clear out the area rolling a few stones out of the way. Lissa watches Kai for a few moments before falling into step beside her as she works to clear away the rocks alongside Kai happily. Kai smiles gently as she and Lissa finish up in a few minutes and settle on the ground as Kai rests tiredly. Lissa frowns as she moves over to Kai and kneels beside her.

“Take your cloak off, so I can check your wounds again. I want to bandage your less serious wounds now that we have a chance to rest,” Lissa says worriedly. Kai nods gently as she pulls the cloak off and winces looking down at her stomach seeing a slice across her shirt along with other smaller cuts along her torso caused from her rough landings during her fights. Lissa sighs and shakes her head as she rummages around in a small bag to pull out a roll of bandages. Lissa gestures to the shirt and Kai nods gently before she pulls her shirt off carefully.

Lissa sits beside Kai and begins to bandage Kai’s stomach slowly. Kai relaxes slowly as Lissa bandages her wounds to stop the bleeding. Kai sighs softly and relaxes completely as Lissa pulls her hands away once she’s finished.

“There we go. That should stop the bleeding and keep the wounds closed even if we’re on the march or we get caught up in another battle,” Lissa says softly. Kai sighs gently and grabs her shirt as she pulls it back on not minding the rips and tears in it. She shivers for a moment then sighs bundling her cloak up as a makeshift pillow as she lays down. She stares upwards at the stars and rests as Lissa sits beside her.

“You can lay down beside me if you want Lissa. I’m sure you’re tired after all that happened today as well,” Kai says softly, not taking her gaze off of the stars above. Lissa makes a soft noise of surprise before carefully laying beside Kai as she watches the sky. Kai stares at the stars tracing different patterns in the sky as she relaxes her form slowly. Lissa smiles a bit as she slowly allows herself to relax while Frederick isn’t nearby to berate them for it. Kai stays silent for a bit then sits up slowly as she rests her left arm over her raised left knee, leaning on it as though she’s been sitting like that the entire time. “Your brother and Frederick are going to be here soon, Lissa. I don’t think you want them to catch you lying down right now.” Lissa nods as she sits up and settles beside Kai quietly.

A short while later, Chrom and Frederick return with the firewood and a bear as Lissa winces seeing the large beast that is meant to be their dinner. Kai relaxes on the ground as she watches Chrom set up the firewood before turning away to grab some flint to start a fire. Kai huffs at the sight as she pulls her tome out and places a single finger against a log. She closes her eyes and murmurs the Thunder spell, but holds back on the power enough to avoid setting everything ablaze. The log ignites instantly and Kai slowly withdraws her hand before placing the tome away.

“It’s best to use whatever resources you have to your advantage Chrom. Even if that sometimes means using others for simple things like this,” Kai says softly. Frederick scowls as he goes about skinning the bear before cutting off strips of meat that he spears on sticks to let them cook in the fire.

“And it is best not to rely on something we won’t always have. Such as your magic and tomes. Especially, since it can be hard to control the power of magic the way you did,” Frederick says grimly. Kai snorts and shakes her head as she rests her chin on her arm and stares at the fire choosing not to respond. “Oh I’m sorry did I upset the actress in the corner? How unfortunate.” Kai closes her eyes and sighs heavily before turning around to grab her cloak off the ground. She grunts quietly as she stands and pulls the cloak on over her shoulders, subtly wrapping her left arm around her bandaged midsection as she does so.

She walks to the side of the fire opposite Frederick and settles there silently.She snags a few pieces of the slightly less cooked bear meat as she sits down not minding the more bloody pieces of meat as she begins to eat ravenously as though several days have passed since her last meal. Lissa and Chrom turn to frown at Frederick and both shake their heads in disappointment as Kai wolfs down her meal silently.

The meal passes in silence afterwards as Lissa moves to sit beside Kai after sending Frederick another glare of disapproval. Chrom simply eats his meal in silence as he contemplates how things have changed in such a short time. Kai finishes eating fairly quickly and rests her right arm and chin on her right knee as she stares at the fire. Kai watches the fire dance in front of her and her grey eyes seem to glow red in the firelight. A few minutes later Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick settle down to sleep for the night as Kai continues to watch and tend the fire.

“You should rest Kai. It will help your wounds heal faster,” Lissa murmurs lowly. Kai glances at her from the corner of her eye and smiles a bit before nodding gently. Kai moves a little ways away from Lissa and Chrom as she lies down with her cloak still wrapped around her shoulders loosely. Lissa sighs and closes her eyes as she drifts off, not noticing that Kai is unable to sleep nearby.

Later, Kai’s eyes dart towards Chrom as she notices him start to stir and frowns as she lets her eyes drift to be partially closed. She watches Chrom sit up and look around curiously for a moment before standing. She frowns more when Chrom moves to leave and wakes Lissa on accident as he does so, making him pause to reassure the blonde. Lissa yawns tiredly as she wakes slowly and rubs sleep from her eyes before focusing on Chrom

“What’s wrong, Big Brother?” Lissa murmurs, voice thick with sleep.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you, but… Something is amiss…” Chrom murmurs lowly. Kai stiffens as she lays still on the ground and listens silently to the siblings as she does so.

“Define “something”” Lissa says nervous now.

“I’m not sure… I think I’ll have a look around,” Chrom murmurs softly, trying not to wake the others.

“Not alone, you won’t! I’m coming too,” Lissa murmurs firmly, worry lacing her tone. Chrom chuckles softly, smiling at Lissa gratefully.

“Thanks, Lissa,” Chrom murmurs softly. The two quietly sneak out of the camp trying not to wake the others as they assume they’re both sleeping still. Once they’re gone Kai slowly sits up and slips her cloak into place before grasping her tome firmly. She silently moves after Chrom and Lissa as she tries to avoid drawing their attention to her or waking Frederick as she leaves silently. Kai hides behind a tree as Chrom and Lissa pause in a clearing, listening as she feels on edge tonight.

“It sure is dark. ...And quiet. Where did the birds go?” Lissa murmurs softly. Kai jolts as her back straightens, subconsciously drawing her tome closer to her body as she does so beginning to realize why she was on edge.

“Something is wrong here…” Chrom murmurs softly. Not even a moment passes after Chrom speaks before the ground begins to shake rapidly, pitching Kai, Chrom, and Lissa off balance for a moment. Lissa cries out in fear and surprise as she manages to steady herself a bit and looks towards Chrom.

“Chrom!” Lissa shouts, scared and worried.

“Gods, what--- Agh! What is this madness?! Lissa, stay close!” Chrom shouts worriedly. Kai turns and watches as the forest around them heaves upwards large trees rising into the air before falling to the ground. She debates calling out for a split second before darting towards Chrom and Lissa.

“Move it you two!” Kai calls out firmly, barely maintaining her balance. Chrom and Lissa look shocked to see Kai, but begin to move as she pushes them forward hurriedly. Lissa stumbles for a moment before finding her balance and taking off as Chrom hesitates a moment longer. He shoots Kai a confused glance, making the burgundy haired girl scowl as she shoves him forward firmly. “I said move Chrom!” Chrom stumbles forward before beginning to run as Kai follows him.

Kai pants gently and wraps her arm firmly around her midsection as she stays behind Lissa and Chrom to watch over them. Kai hisses feeling an intense heat at her back and leaps over a log to follow Chrom and Lissa. Behind them the earth splits and heaves upwards as lava sprays into the air.

Kai releases a soft yell and dives forward in a roll as a fireball lands behind her. Several other fireballs land in the forest setting it ablaze as Kai rolls back onto her feet. Kai stumbles after Chrom and Lissa before sprinting after them as her subconscious tells her something is still going to happen. Kai watches as Chrom grabs Lissa’s arm and pulls Lissa towards a cliff as the forest burns brighter around them. Kai grunts and pivots on her heel as she follows behind Lissa making sure the girl doesn’t trip as she moves quickly. Chrom leaps over a small ledge to the ground below and lands heavily as Lissa follows.

Kai curses as a tree falls in her path and she leaps over it before darting over the cliff as she lands heavily on her side, causing the wound along her midsection to reopen a bit. Kai grunts as she grips her stomach firmly looking uncomfortable and in pain. Kai quickly scrambles to her feet and darts off in the direction Lissa and Chrom were running in when she last saw them. Kai finds the two in a clearing where they can overlook the burning forest and sighs in relief as she leans on a tree gripping her bandaged abdomen firmly.

“C-Chrom! What’s that?!” Lissa shouts worriedly, pointing to the sky. Kai lifts her head and follows Lissa’s arm as she watches a blue eye like object blink open in the sky. Kai stiffens as the eye seems to stare at the scene of carnage, watching in horror as two figures slowly faze through the gate before falling to the ground. The two bodies slowly begin to get back up as their movements are stiff and unnatural. The eyes of the warriors glow with an unnatural red light as they begin to lumber out of the forest towards Chrom and Lissa.

Kai begins to move forward, but is pulled back when a burgundy gauntlet grasps her forearm firmly. Kai takes a breath to cry out, but is silenced as a second gauntlet covers her mouth to muffle the cry. Kai relaxes her form before slamming her head backwards hoping to score a hit on her assailant. Instead Kai’s head meets unyielding armor causing the tactician’s head to throb as she groans in pain.

“That’s gotta hurt your head, Kai,” a low, feminine voice rumbles. Kai goes still and frowns not sensing any malice or ill will from the person holding her. “Now you just stay put Kai. After all you opened one of your wounds in your mad dash to escape those flames earlier.” Kai frowns and before she can respond she feels a sharp pain in her neck causing her to black out. The mysterious woman from the town sighs as she sets Kai down carefully before resting her hand on her blade. “Now let’s see if you’re really as great as she always made you out to be Chrom.”

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The woman watches as Lissa cowers behind Chrom and the two lumbering monsters slowly advance out of the forest. Chrom pushes Lissa back farther and draws Falchion from its scabbard. Lissa nods silently as she steps back to stand out of Chrom’s sword range. One of the monsters lumbers out of the forest slowly and roars as a purplish black mist flows from its mouth. Once the monster exits the forest it moves with surprising speed towards Chrom and leaps at him bringing its ax down towards his head.

Chrom smirks and darts forward as he swings Falchion through the monster’s midsection coming to a stop behind the monster. Chrom looks surprised when he doesn’t hear the sound of a body falling to the ground and stiffens. The woman watches as the monster’s head turns towards Chrom at an impossible angle and she goes pale as the monster twists itself around to cleave at Chrom’s head. Chrom pivots quickly and catches the axe on Falchion’s blade before locking it in place. Chrom grits his teeth as he twists Falchion around quickly throwing the monster off balance and forward onto its stomach. Chrom doesn’t hesitate for a moment as he leaps after the felled monster and drives Falchion into its back. The monster releases a cry as purplish black mist sprays from its mouth again before its body dissipates into the same purplish black mist.

_ ‘Where’s the other one though?’  _ the woman thinks idly. She jolts realizing her mistake as she turns towards Lissa when a scream comes from the blonde healer. Chrom turns towards his sister at the same moment and both watch as Lissa cowers with her back against a rock as the second monster closes in on her. The monster lifts its axe into the air and prepares to bring it down on the healer as Chrom struggles to remove his sword from the ground and go to his sister’s aid. The woman curses in a foreign tongue and grasps the pommel of the sword strapped to her back.

The portal above the group glows as a distinctly human form leaps from the portal and lands in a crouch in front of Chrom. Chrom manages to free his blade and darts after the masked warrior as they dart in front of Lissa. The warrior brings a blade up across their back and stops the blow before it can touch them or Lissa. The mysterious woman smirks as she looks over the warrior and draws her blade as Chrom freezes in confusion. Lissa cowers in front of the warrior before slowly opening her eyes and gasping in surprise. The warrior grunts and struggles to keep the axe from descending further or sliding along the blade. They turn their head towards Chrom and open their mouth to call out for help as the burgundy haired warrior decides it’s time she made her own move.

“Help!” the warrior calls desperately. Chrom stares for a moment still shocked and the burgundy clad warrior leaps forward from the trees as she darts past the stunned man. She roars a battle cry as her red eyes blaze with anger, locked on the monster attacking the masked warrior and Lissa. The masked warrior watches the woman approach and when the monster looks over distracted they use it to their advantage. The warrior pivots in a small circle as they flourish their sword around their form in a tight circle to avoid hitting Lissa. The burgundy clad warrior lets out a frightening roar as she draws the gold blade from her back and slides past the monster slicing the blade across its back. At the same moment the masked warrior slices across the chest of the monster as the dual strike cleaves the beast in two. The monster bursts into smoke and dissipates quickly as the masked warrior returns their sword to its scabbard. Chrom frowns as he watches the two warriors and slowly walks around them as he frowns.

“Quite an entrance and teamwork displayed there. What are your names?” Chrom asks lowly. The burgundy clad warrior makes no move to place her sword away as she turns her gaze towards Chrom. Chrom glares at the woman and makes as if he’s going to charge her before hesitating as the woman looks at Lissa. She points a single finger at Lissa and looks grim as she speaks softly.

“Kai is injured. Her abdomen wound has reopened. She is in need of medical attention,” she says lowly. Lissa straightens looking worried as the masked warrior stiffens hearing there is someone injured nearby. “Help her before it’s too late.” Lissa nods as the masked warrior tilts their head hearing someone approach on horseback. “We should go. There are many more monsters like the ones you just saw nearby. They will overwhelm you if you are not careful.” The mysterious woman states lowly as she approaches the masked warrior. She tilts her head in a gentle nod of greeting as the masked warrior nods and the two walk off.

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Kai groans softly hearing someone speak next to her and shakes her form gently. Kai’s eyes slowly flutter open and she reaches up to grasp her head as it throbs. She closes her eyes again and digs her fingers into her forehead.

“Kiba…” Kai murmurs as she rubs her head slowly. “Please give me a moment milady… I think I’ve received a blow to the head…”

“Hold still Kai. Let me check your head,” a soft voice murmurs. Kai stays still and after a moment a soothing warmth spreads across Kai’s head easing the pain. Kai sighs and opens her eyes to smile at Lissa. “Thank you Lissa. I feel much better now.” Lissa smiles in relief and giggles as she stands before offering her hand to Kai. Kai gently grasps it and lets Lissa help her to her feet as she wraps an arm around her midsection carefully. “Guess you took care of my stomach wound as well while I was out. Are you and Chrom okay though? Those monsters didn’t get the chance to hurt you right?”

“No. Two warriors appeared and helped us defeat them before we could get hurt,” Lissa explains gently as the two move towards Chrom. Frederick rides into the area and frowns as he reigns in his steed looking worried. He looks Chrom and Lissa over without pausing a beat as he ignores Kai’s presence.

“Milord! Milady! Are you hurt?” Frederick calls. Lissa looks up at Frederick and Kai can see the shock and relief in the young girl’s eyes. Kai turns hearing garbled and monstrous roars as she glares at the monsters that appear from within the forest. Kai narrows her eyes as she feels anger fill her mind to the point where it confuses her.

“I take it these horrific monsters are not common place here. Correct?” she speaks lowly as her voice wavers with anger before steadying.

“They’re not from Ylisse, I promise you that,” Chrom murmurs lowly. Lissa speaks with Frederick as Kai converses with Chrom before sighing heavily.

“No one is injured, then? Thank the gods…” Frederick says lowly. Lissa frowns and steps back closer towards Kai and Chrom as she smiles a bit in remembrance.

“Thank the masked man and red eyed warrior who saved me! It if wasn’t for them, I’d be… Hey where did they go?” Lissa asks looking for the warriors.

“We can worry about those two later,  _ after  _ we put these...things...to the blade. Eyes open, now. We know nothing about this enemy,” Frederick calls warily. Kai frowns as she shakes her head slowly and murmurs lowly.

“No… Only you know nothing of this enemy,” Kai murmurs quietly to avoid being heard. Frederick and Lissa both fall back as Kai begins to make her way into the forest as she scans for enemies closing in on them. She pauses and holds her arm up as she hears a horse approach and frowns as a knight with rust red hair rides out in front of the group a little ways ahead.

“Captain Chrom! Wait! I’m coming! ...Agh, I knew I shouldn’ta left’em,” the warrior murmurs. She adjusts the grip on her spear and nudges her mare forward with her heels to urge the horse forward a step. “All right, you ash-faced freaks! Which one of ya wants to try my lance on for size first? I know just the spot for it: shoved right up your---”

“Hold, milady!” a blue haired man calls, cutting the knight off. Kai groans loudly and looks back at Chrom a little annoyed as her eyes narrow a bit in what could be disgust.

“Are those two allies of yours Chrom?” Kai asks lowly. Chrom sighs and nods as he watches the two looking unamused at the scene in front of them. Kai sighs heavily and nods as she leads them towards the group and gets their attention as she sees the knight preparing to stomp her boot into the archer’s face. “You two knock it off! We need you on the battlefield, not at each other’s throats!” The knight straightens and has the decency to look slightly embarrassed as the archer just puts on a flirty smile, turning towards Kai. Kai sends the man a deadly glare causing the smile to fall away as he gulps nervously. “If you’re Shepherds then act like it and focus on the task at hand!” The archer salutes as the knight grins widely in response before lifting her spear in preparation.

“You just tell me where to go and I’ll make’em fall before me,” the knight calls. Kai smirks as she steps forward before looking behind her.

“Frederick, protect the archer and transport him around the battlefield as support. Pick off any stragglers that may survive the initial fights with the vanguard. Chrom, you and Lissa pair up and take the left abandoned fort we passed earlier. It will give you the advantage in a fight should enemies come after you. Frederick you and the archer are to support Chrom and Lissa,” Kai orders calmly. Chrom smiles and nods as Lissa steps closer to him, but the archer looks like he’s about to argue before Kai fixes him with another glare. “Go with Frederick. You’re an archer, so it’s to our strategic advantage to leave you here where you’re less likely to be killed.”

“What about me huh?” the knight asks impatiently. Kai turns her gaze to the knight and smirks as she holds her hand out to her.

“You and I are gonna go find the leader. These things have an innate weakness for magical attacks, though their defence isn’t really much better. Any complaints Chrom?” Kai calls out. The knight reaches down and grasps Kai’s hand before pulling her onto the back of her horse as the archer is pulled up by Frederick.

“None here, Kai. We’ll hold down the fort while you and Sully go take out the leader. Hopefully that will keep more from appearing and make any that remain easier to take care of,” Chrom calls back. Kai nods in agreement and watches as Chrom and his allies enter the rundown fort before turning to Sully.

“Let’s get this over with Sully. I don’t like the feeling these things give me,” Kai says lowly. Sully nods and urges her mount forward into a gallop as she swings her spear around to point out just in front of the horse’s muzzle, ready to tear into anything in its path. Kai smirks as she gently grips the flanks of the horse with her thighs and directs Sully through the forest. Kai gives a sudden shout and Sully reigns in her mount as a group of four monsters lumber out in front of the two. “Get ready, Sully. These are no pushovers, but they shouldn’t cause a seasoned warrior like yourself too much trouble.”

“Aye,” Sully responds and smiles. Kai chuckles as she leaps off Sully’s mount and grips her tome tightly in her hand. The four monsters turn towards the two as one raises a bronze axe, another raises a hand axe, and the other two raise bronze swords in the air. “I think we found the leader of this here mob too.” Sully nods her head towards the monster with the hand axe as it stands a good foot taller than the rest of the enemies. Kai glances at the monster and smirks as she focuses back on the other monsters.

“Seems so. Let’s clear out the others first, so we can deal with the leader without having to worry about being attacked from behind,” Kai murmurs. Sully nods and nudges her horse forward a bit as Kai stands beside her and off to the back a bit. The two groups stare at one another for moment before the two sword wielders charge forward. Sully urges her mount forward to meet them as she swings her spear downwards to stab into the shoulder of the left monster. The beast grunts and roars angrily as the monster on the right darts inside Sully’s defenses swinging at her mount and right hip. Kai darts forward as she casts a Thunder spell at the swordsman and the resulting blast tears into its flesh easily.

The monster roars as smoke pours from its wound and it turns towards the tactician. It stops its swing and redirects it towards the tactician. Kai grunts and ducks to avoid being beheaded before shooting her hand out towards the monster’s chest as she sends a Thunder spell through the creature’s chest. Kai takes a moment to breath and glances towards Sully as the knight roars and engages the bronze axe wielder having dispatched the other swordsman already. Kai frowns not seeing the hand axe wielder as she looks around for it. The sound of something flying through the air reaches her ears and she wills her body to fall backwards to the ground as a handaxe flies over her. She lets out a cry of warning to Sully and the knight urges her horse forward as it tramples the monster beneath it. Sully moves to stand on the opposite side of the clearing as the hand axe digs into the tree she was fighting in front of a moment earlier, right where her head would have been.

Kai scowls as she flips herself onto her feet and turns towards the leader of the monsters. The monster lumbers towards Kai and roars indistinctly at her. Kai’s eyes narrow in anger as she grasps her tomb tightly before darting towards the monster. The monster darts forward to meet her charge and swings a hand axe towards her right shoulder. Kai plants her left foot and pivots to the left slightly, but doesn’t stop her forward momentum to avoid the axe blow. The monster reacts with unnatural speed as it twists to bring the axe towards Kai’s neck, taking the Tactician by surprise. Kai curses and brings her right arm up quickly as the axe blade sinks into her forearm making her grip on the tome slacken a bit from pain. Kai glares angrily as she lifts her left arm and points at the monster’s exposed midsection.

“Checkmate,” Kai says grimly. The monster roars in outrage as Kai releases a powerful, anger fueled Thunder spell into the creature’s midsection, roasting it from the inside and blowing a hole right through the monster. The monster roars once more before going silent as it dissipates into mist. Kai lowers her arm slowly before gripping the axe still embedded in her arm. She whimpers silently as she grips the handle to hold the weapon still to avoid causing herself further injury. Sully rides up alongside the Tactician and grasps the back of her cloak pulling her back onto the horse.

“Not bad, but we should get ya to Lissa. Can’t leave your wound untended after all,” Sully says almost cheerfully. Kai nods slowly to keep from crying out in pain at how she was handled with her current wound. Sully nudges her mare forward as she takes them back to the abandoned fort where Chrom, Lissa, Frederick, and the archer are waiting for them. Sully hurries her mare back towards the fortress and slows as she hears the sounds of a fight coming to a close. Kai groans softly and grips her arm tightly before nodding a bit to herself as the two look at the entrance of the fortress. Chrom slices down the last of the monsters in front of the fortress and checks for more before spotting Kai and Sully. He waves them over, signalling that that was the last of the monsters and notices Kai relax back into Sully as though all the fight has left her at the news. Chrom frowns as Sully nears the fortress, and he turns to head inside.

“Lissa. We need your assistance outside. I think Kai has been injured again,” Chrom calls worriedly. Frederick scowls as he overhears the news and deposits the archer on the ground before heading to the gate.

“Alright Big Brother,” Lissa calls back. She checks her staff and bandages before following Chrom to the clearing just outside the entrance to the fortress. Sully comes to a stop in front of the fortress and easily swings herself off the horse. Sully turns and lifts Kai off the horse, causing the tactician to fight back tears and a whimper when the axe in her arm is disturbed from the movement. Kai sucks in a sharp breath and holds it as she tries to avoid being sick before Sully sets her down on her feet. Kai stiffens to avoid falling forward before Sully puts Kai’s uninjured arm around her neck to steady Kai’s weakened form, Kai’s vision blurring from the pain overwhelming her senses. Kai releases a shaky breath and allows herself to be moved as she focuses on not passing out from the pain in her arm or the blood loss of her wound as she can feel the blood dripping off her fingers to the ground.

“Just hold on now. Lissa’ll get you fixed up good as new,” Sully murmurs lowly. Kai smiles and laughs a bit as she feels herself being seated. She can hear Sully walking away, but doesn’t pay it much mind as someone begins to prod at the axe in her arm. Kai winces and whimpers softly before clenching her jaw firmly as she manages to avoid flinching away from the pain.

“Sorry Kai. I know this hurts, but it’s necessary. Just hold on a bit longer,” Lissa murmurs softly. Kai nods gently and feels the pressure on her arm lessen as Lissa moves away. Kai listens intently and hears the sound of armored boots hit the ground as someone approaches her. They don’t say anything and Kai struggles to see clearly through the pain as she focuses in front of her. She hisses feeling the person grasp the hand axe and grits her teeth as it is tugged out of her arm quickly. Kai reaches up on instinct to grasp the wound only for it to be pushed away by a gentle hand before warmth spreads over the wound. Kai releases a shaky breath and leans on the wall as the wound is closed. She slowly opens her eyes again as the warmth leaves and stares at Lissa’s worried face for a moment before smiling.

“Thanks Lissa,” Kai murmurs softly. Lissa smiles back widely and stands as she holds her hand out to help Kai up.

“Glad I could help Kai, but you really need to be more careful. You’re starting to make it a habit of getting injured every time there’s a skirmish of some kind,” Lissa murmurs. Kai laughs and smiles as she grasps Lissa’s hand and lets her pull her to her feet.

“So it seems, Lissa. So it seems,” Kai responds softly. She looks to her left hearing a clatter and watches as Frederick tosses aside the bloodied hand axe looking annoyed. Kai sighs and shakes her head as Lissa nudges her towards the entrance as two warriors approach the fortress.

“Good to see you four are still alive. Though it appears Kai suffered a serious blow while leading the charge against those monsters,” the red eyed warrior calls as she and her companion near the fortress. Frederick narrows his eyes as he looks the warrior over and scowls at the familiarity of the woman with the Tactician.

“It seems all the creatures are vanquished. I suppose we have you and the young man beside you to thank for taking care of the others,” Frederick states coldly. The woman’s eyes turn cold as she gazes at Frederick before grinning grimly, causing the knight to stiffen and reach for his weapon. Kai raises her arm tiredly and stops Frederick as she stares at the warrior across from her.

“Don’t be stupid Frederick. Those two warriors have seen more action than even you. Do  _ not _ antagonize them,” Kai says lowly. She slides her eyes towards Frederick for a moment before looking at the red eyed warrior as the warrior claps slowly. The warrior beside her stays silent and expressionless as the burgundy armor of the warrior clinks together sharply.

“Well what do you know. At least someone here has some observation skills. Tell me what told you I’m such a threat Kai?” the warrior asks, sounding amused as her lips curl in a grin. Kai slowly lowers her arm before swallowing nervously as she stares the woman in the eyes.

“Your eyes. They speak of hardships, and loss the kind only war could cause,” Kai murmurs softly. The warrior continues to smile and nods as she returns her blade to its scabbard. Lissa steps forward as she looks at the woman and her silent companion curiously.

“Um, I never got to thank you...for before. So...thank you. You were very brave,” Lissa murmurs softly. The red eyed warriors eyes soften and genuine kindness shines in them as she smiles softly towards the blonde and Chrom as he steps up beside his sister to look at the two warriors.

“You saved my sister’s life. My name is Chrom. Might I ask yours?” Chrom asks kindly. The woman hesitates and her companion steps forward and draws attention to themself.

“You may call me Marth,” they say softly. The woman eyes Marth before shrugging as she takes a relaxed stance behind them. Chrom frowns looking confused as he watches the warrior.

“Marth? After the heroic king of old?” Chrom questions. The warrior nods and Chrom smiles before nodding in acknowledgment. “Well, you certainly fight like a hero. Where did you learn your way with a sword?” Marth frowns at the question and Kai watches as they grip the pommel of their sword more firmly.

“I’m not here to talk about me,” Marth responds coldly. The red eyed warrior looks at Marth and places a gentle hand on their shoulder as the warrior relaxes a touch from the familiar sensation.

“I’m sure Chrom meant no offense by his question little lotus,” she murmurs lowly as Marth turns towards her. Marth nods gently before releasing a heavy sigh as they turn back towards the others, their stance relaxed now.

“This world teeters at the brink of a horrible calamity. What you saw tonight was but a prelude. You have been warned,” Marth speaks firmly before spinning on their heel and walking off. The red eyed warrior sighs as she watches Marth walk away and rubs her head looking frustrated, but also amused and fond.

“Huh? What’s teetering where now? Hey, wait!” Lissa calls out confused and worried. Marth doesn’t turn to respond as they keep walking, and Kai moves forward to stand beside the red eyed warrior who grins at her fondly.

“I take it they’re not much for conversation Miss,” Kai murmurs respectfully. The warrior laughs as she reaches over and grasps Kai’s shoulder firmly as the Tactician grunts from the force behind the action.

“You’d be surprised how much people will open up given time, Kai. We all have our reasons for being the way we are and making the decisions we do. I think you will find that out though, given time of course. I’ll be taking my leave as well now. Take care of Kai for me Chrom. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you all around,” she calls as she releases Kai and starts to leave.

“Wait Miss. If you know Kai then perhaps she should travel with you instead,” Frederick calls before she can get more than a few steps away. The woman stops and sighs heavily as her shoulders visibly sag from the motion. Kai frowns as her eyes narrow in thought, feeling on edge from the actions of the woman. The red eyed woman pivots quickly on her bare feet as she points two fingers at Frederick speaking in a foreign tongue. A ball of fire forms at her fingertips before launching towards Frederick aiming for his chest plate. Kai moves on instinct as she slides in front of him moving her arms in a circle in front of her chest.

“Doragonsupiritto!” Kai calls as she slams her hands together. There is a moment of calmness before a green spirit launches itself out of Kai’s cloak and slams into the fireball dispelling it instantly before the spirit also disappears. Kai pants gently as she looks down at her hands in confusion before back towards the spot where the woman was earlier, noting that the woman fled during the confusion. Kai shakes tiredly and drops into a kneeling position as she glares over her shoulder at Frederick. “I warned you...not to irritate her...you should have left it...alone Frederick.”

“Kai!” Lissa yelps as she hurries to Kai’s side. She checks her over as the older woman smiles kindly and waves her over stating she’s fine, just tired. Chrom frowns at Frederick looking upset as he kneels beside Kai to check her over.

“Are you sure you’re okay Kai? I’ve never seen magic like that used here before. Though I’m sure it must have taken a lot to do so,” Chrom murmurs lowly. Kai takes a deep breath and nods slowly as she stands shakily, causing Lissa to steady her.

“I’m fine Chrom… However, I think she knew I would be able to do something to protect Frederick… Good thing I did too that was no simple fire spell she used. That was so much stronger,” Kai murmurs softly, sounding awed. “Are you alright though Frederick?” Frederick nods silently and frowns heavily as he watches the three.

“We can worry about those two later, as I’ll wager we’ll hear their names again at some point. But for now I’m more concerned about the capital and our own party. We should make haste since we did sustain some injuries in these skirmishes,” Frederick says softly, sounding a bit more friendly now. The others nod and the group sets out at a steady pace as Frederick leads the way and Lissa and Kai bring up the rear. Kai frowns heavily as she walks and tenses as a thought strikes her suddenly.  _ ‘She didn’t give us her name…’ _

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kai looks around curiously as she walks through the streets of Ylisstol, scanning the crowds curiously. She tilts her head towards the left hearing the shout of children. A soft, content smile makes its way to Kai’s lips making her tired appearance look pleased and relaxed. Kai sighs as she moves closer to Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick following them through the city.

“So this is Ylisstol, capital of Ylisse… I’ve never seen so many people!” Kai says softly as she continues to scan the crowd. Lissa giggles and nods as Frederick looks over the city before sighing in relief.

“It appears the capital was spared the chaos we encountered, thank the gods. I see no evidence of the great quake. It must’ve been limited to the forest,” Frederick murmurs softly. Kai nods still scanning and watching the crowds as she walks beside Lissa.

“Well, that’s a relief!” Lissa calls happily. Kai turns hearing a commotion and watches as a group of villagers gather together at the call of an older man.

“Look! The exalt has come to see us!” another man calls clearly now. Kai turns at the shout and watches as a blonde walks through the streets, flanked by armed guards, and knights as a light blue haired knight rides alongside the woman with a spear in her hand. Kai watches the two and smiles softly at the sight as she hums to herself. She examines the strange crown the blonde wears pinned into her hair and assumes her to be the exalt that was spoken of.

“The exalt is your ruler, yes?” Kai asks, not taking her eyes off the procession. Frederick pauses beside Kai and nods as he watches the Tactician with narrowed eyes.

“Yes. Her name is Lady Emmeryn,” Frederick explains cautiously. Kai hums softly as she watches Emmeryn proceed down the road, looking thoughtful.

“Is it safe for her to walk among commoners like this?”

“The exalt is a symbol of peace---Ylisse’s most prized quality. Long ago, at the dawn of our age, the fell dragon tried to destroy the world. But the first exalt joined forces with the divine dragon and laid the beast low. Exalt Emmeryn reminds us all of the peace we fought for then,” Frederick explains with a kind smile. Kai hums and turns slightly as Chrom approaches from behind them, stopping at Kai’s shoulder.

“With Plegia poking at our borders, the people need her. She’s a calming presence, when some might otherwise call for war,” Chrom explains softly. Kai frowns as her eyes narrow in thought before she sighs heavily and shakes her head.

“Then the Ylissean people are indeed lucky to have her. I do not think there are many rulers who would forestall war when their people are suffering around them,” Kai murmurs softly, but smiles admirably. Lissa giggles causing Kai to turn towards her as the Exalt’s procession walks past them.

“She’s also the best big sister anyone could ask for!” Lissa says excitedly. Kai stops and looks Lissa over slowly before smiling wider as she nods slowly.

“Yes, I imagine she… Wait, what? She’s your… But wouldn’t that make you and Chrom…” Kai starts slowly. Frederick laughs as he looks at Kai and smiles again.

“The prince and princess of the realm, yes. You remember Chrom’s name and not this?” Frederick asks a bit of bite in his tone. Kai tenses as her hand twitches at her side and her eyes narrow.

“You said you were “shepherds”,” Kai says lowly her voice dripping with hostility. Chrom frowns as Frederick looks taken aback by the sudden hostility. Chrom steps forward to intervene and frowns unhappily at Frederick again.

“And so we are...in a manner of speaking. We just have a LOT of sheep,” Chrom says kindly. Kai keeps her eyes narrowed as she looks at Chrom, though it is a calculating gaze not void of hostility. Kai sighs lowly and shrugs as she relaxes her posture slowly.

“So be it, but do not expect me to treat you different simply because you’re royalty Chrom. I don’t much care for formalities when it comes to royalty,” Kai says lowly, her eyes holding a glint of recognition in them for a moment. “Or at least I don’t believe I do after all my memories are gone.” Chrom smiles and chuckles softly as he looks amused.

“That’s fine with me Kai. I’ve never been much for formalities anyways,” Chrom responds reassuringly. Kai smiles a bit now as she chuckles almost darkly and looks over towards Frederick.

“The prince and princess… That explains why Frederick tolerates all the teasing, eh?” Kai asks as her smile falls away as quickly as it appeared.

“Indeed. Oh, the sacrifices I make for the good of the realm…” Frederick mutters almost sounding pained. Kai narrows her eyes amused as she files away the information for later.

“It looks like Emm is returning to the palace. Would you like to meet her?” Chrom asks kindly. Kai smiles and nods as she follows Chrom and Lissa slowly. She keeps her pace slow and relaxed to try and ease the pain her body is currently in from her many cuts and bruises. Frederick huffs as he follows Chrom and Lissa looking a bit unsettled by the way Kai has so quickly accepted that Chrom and Lissa are royalty. Kai hums softly as she runs a hand carefully through her short burgundy hair, tilting her head towards the castle as she does so. The group is lead into the castle once they approach it and head towards the main hall. Kai hums as she looks around then slows when she spots Emmeryn and the light blue haired pegasus knight from earlier.

“Chrom! Lissa! Welcome home. Oh, and good day, Frederick. How fared you all?” Emmeryn asks kindly as she smiles when the group approaches. Chrom smiles as he nods towards Emmeryn and comes to a stop in front of her.

“Well---we shouldn’t have any bandit problems for a while,” Chrom responds with a smile.

“Wonderful. And our people?”

“Safe as they can be, Emm. But we still need to watch the borders. The brigands crossed over from Plegia,” Chrom says lowly.

“Forgive me, milord. My pegasus knights should have intercepted them,” the pegasus knight murmurs as she moves forward. Chrom shakes his head and sighs as he turns towards the pegasus knight.

“No, Phila. Your duty was here, with the exalt,” Chrom says kindly. Kai tilts her head as she watches Phila nod and smiles to herself in thought.

“And besides, we had plenty of help!” Lissa says excitedly. Kai straightens as Lissa speaks and relaxes as she turns to watch Emmeryn.

“Ah, you speak of your new companion here?” Emmeryn asks kindly.

“This is Kai. She fought bravely with us against the brigands. I’ve decided to make her a Shepherd,” Chrom says turning towards Kai as she steps forward calmly.

“It sounds as though Ylisse owes you a debt of gratitude, Kai,” Emmeryn says with a kind smile on her lips. Kai smiles back softly for a moment before she bows towards Emmeryn respectfully.

“Not at all, milady. Anyone who could stand by while the innocent are hurt and have the power to help, but choose not to do not deserve to have such power. I only acted as anyone should,” Kai murmurs lowly before slowly straightening. Frederick steps forward once Kai straightens and she shoots him a dark look before shrugging as she makes no move to step back.

“Forgive me, Your Grace, but I must speak. Kai claims to have lost her memory, but it is only that: a claim. We cannot rule out the possibility that she is a brigand herself or even a Plegian spy,” Frederick says lowly. Kai sighs as she looks at Frederick bored and wraps an arm around her stomach, subconsciously protecting her sore midsection.

“Frederick!” Chrom yells sounding appalled and angry.

“Yet you allowed her into the castle, Chrom. Does this woman have your trust?” Emmeryn asks softly.

“Yes. As she has already said she risked her life for our people and for us more than once. Not only that, but she saved Lissa’s life from a brigand leader,” Chrom states firmly.

“Well then, Kai… It seems you’ve earned Chrom’s faith, as well as saved Lissa’s life, and as such you have my faith as well,” Emmeryn says kindly. Kai smiles as she bows to Emmeryn again before straightening again.

“Thank you. I am glad that I have your faith, milady,” Kai murmurs softly. Emmeryn smiles at Kai before turning towards Frederick as she nods towards the knight.

“But thank you, Frederick, for your prudence, as always. Chrom and Lissa are blessed to have so tireless a guardian, and I am glad that there appears to be a second guardian to keep them safe. I do hope they remember to mention that from time to time...,” Emmeryn murmurs softly. Frederick shrugs as he looks at Emmeryn respectfully.

“They occasionally express something akin to gratitude, Your Grace. Phila, I assume you’ve heard about the deathly creatures we encountered, yes?” Frederick asks lowly. Kai hums and subconsciously reaches up to rub her arm where the axe buried itself the night before. Emmeryn and Phila both frown at the gesture as their heads turn towards the tactician though neither comment.

“Yes, milord. They’ve been sighted all across Ylisse,” Phila murmurs. Kai frowns at the news and grips her arm tightly to remind herself the wound is closed. Phila frowns more as she watches the tactician curiously. Kai dips her head and murmurs soft words beneath her breath before making a subtle gesture at her side to ward off death, causing the pegasus knight to stiffen.

“Chrom, we are about to hold council. I was hoping you could join us,” Emmeryn says. Chrom nods firmly as he bows slightly towards Emmeryn.

“Of course,” Chrom responds. Lissa grins and turns towards Kai as she steps towards her, making Kai look towards the blonde.

“I think that’s our cue, Kai! C’mon, there’s a place I want to show you,” Lissa says excitedly. Kai smiles and giggles quietly as she nods towards Lissa.

“Lead the way then Lissa,” Kai murmurs softly. Lissa giggles again and leads Kai out of the main hall quickly. Once the doors are closed Phila steps towards Emmeryn and bows kindly before she speaks.

“I meant to inform you of this sooner milady, but did not think I should do so in front of the tactician. Three days ago a red haired pegasus rider was found near the border with Ferox. She was heavily injured at the time, but has since recovered and is current with the rest of the pegasus riders,” Phila says softly. Chrom frowns at the news and tilts his head as Emmeryn hums in acknowledgement before nodding towards Chrom.

“Have you been able to get a name from this rider, Phila?” Chrom asks.

“No, milord. In fact we have not been able to communicate with her whatsoever. She speaks an unknown tongue, but my best pegasus rider is currently working on a way to communicate with her,” Phila responds softly. Chrom nods and grows thoughtful as Frederick stands at his shoulder in thought before he leaves for the meeting.

“Very well. Keep me updated on her, but do not treat her as an enemy. She may very well be an ally of Ylisse if we can ever communicate with her,” Emmeryn states softly, watching Chrom walk towards the meeting room.

“Of course milady,” Phila says bowing respectfully before heading off to do her rounds of the castle as Emmeryn steps into the council room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, kudos, criticism, and all feedback welcome.

**Author's Note:**

> In this AU the lands of Hoshido, Nohr, and Valla exist in the same era as Ylisse, but until recently those lands have kept their borders closed to the outside world. It has been two years since the war that resulted in the creation of Valla. This story will occasionally reference that war.
> 
> This is a personal project meant for entertainment and for me to improve my writing skills. Comments welcomed and encouraged! Enjoy!


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